Soul's Darkness
by MoonSeaEarth
Summary: Sakura has decided to take her life into her own hands, no more relying on others, there is only one person whom you can trust in this world and that is yourself. Is Sakura right? Or is the only way to solve your problems with the help of others?Tentative


Chapter One: The Things that Frustrate Us.

Sakura stared at the scroll that sat before her on the mahogany table and scowled at her inability to understand what it was explaining. The meaning was just beyond her grasp; so incredible close yet so unbelievingly far away. The situation was fraying her already frayed nerves, frustrating her to the point of madness.

The pink haired sixteen-year-old glanced at the digital watch that had been secured around her wrist , it stared back impassively, displaying the time; seven thirty-five, with the same cold black numbers it had for the past two years. Two years? That really was way to long to keep something so tacky. The white buttons stood out from the plastic sherbet orange wristband in an obnoxiously obvious way. The silver clasp looked too shiny and out of place almost as if it wasn't made out of real silver, but a cheap imitation. Altogether the timepiece had dings and scratches all over it, plus it didn't match anything in her wardrobe, but then again were there a lot of colors that complimented sherbet orange that weren't sherbet colors themselves? Sakura didn't think so, and she defiantly wasn't going to go by a whole new sherbet orientated wardrobe just so her watch would have something to match. That defiantly was on her list of things she was never going to do, ever.

Sakura didn't know why she was critiquing her watch in such a way, probably because this was the first time she had really seen it, or it could the fact she was extremely sleep deprived causing her to act a little out of character.

Personally she didn't care, as it stands she was already an hour late to practice. Not that it mattered; Kakashi probably wasn't there yet anyway. For the past two months or so she had been arriving later and later to practice, she no longer arrived before Sasuke or Naruto. She had however, been getting there before her Sensei but only by the skin of her teeth.

The pink haired ninja-in-training recalled with a grimace the time her silver haired instructor almost caught her arriving late. She had slid into place next to Naruto just as Kakashi materialized with his trade mark smoke 'poof' in front of the group. She had to stomp on the blondes' foot to keep him from blowing it for her with is big mouth, but hey she got away with it.

Sighing irritably the sixteen-year-old rolled the scroll neatly before shoving it in her black duffel bag. Making sure that she had all her belongings in her bag opposed to spread about the table Sakura stood up, stretched her sore back from sitting for hours in the same hunched over position, and swung the bags strap over her head before heading over to the counter at the front of the massive library.

"Good morning Sakura!" a blonde haired blue eyed librarian called form behind the oak reception desk.

Sakura's tired brain supplied that the girl calling out to her was the twenty-something-year-old she had befriended a few months ago when her long visits to the library had first begun. The blonde had become something like an old friend to the girl, looking out for her when she needed it and talking to her when she was bored out of her skull and needed a break from studying.

"Mornin' Aneko." the genin hid a yawn behind a hand.

"Oh, sweetie. Were you here all night again?" Sakura couldn't help but smile at Aneko's tone; it was friendly and sympathetic with a hint of care and concern. To Sakura it was how her older sister would sound, if she had one that is.

"No not all-"

"Don't even begin to lie to me. I bet you haven't even have breakfast yet. Wait a second." Aneko ducked down under the counter, out of Sakura's sight leaving the girl to ponder how someone could sound nice and friendly one minute and bossy and parental the next because Aneko was defiantly a master at it. Seconds later the woman in question reappeared, food in hand. "Here."

"But wasn't this yours?" Sakura protested, staring at the yellow fruit that had been shoved into her hands.

"Exactly, it was mine but I gave it to you. Now eat it, and look you're already late."

"But I still have to check my stuff out." the pink haired girl fumbled with the strap on her shoulder so she could retrieve the scroll she had previously placed in her bag.

"Don't worry about it. I know you'll be back here later. Plus you've been studying that thing for the past eight weeks. It practically belongs to you. Now go, if you hurry you might make it to practice before Kakashi does. "The twinkle in her friends eye made Sakura grin. What would she do without her?

"Thanks so much Aneko."

"Don't mention it. Now go!"

Well first chapter. I was pretty pleased with it, but I would appreciate any help, insight, or a word of encouragement.hint, hint.

p.s. I don't really have a beta ,just friends who read my work and tell me how good (or bad) it was, and as much as I appreciate and love their help it doesn't change the fact that we all suck at grammar(mostly punctuation: comma's, run on sentences, semi-colons etc.).So please don't be to hard on me in that area when you review. Thanks! P

Aneko- A Japanese name for a girl. It means 'Older Sister'.


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